The Timberwolves’ new coach is younger than 42 active NBA players

Ryan Saunders is 32 years young, and has the most difficult task of his career ahead of him.

Ryan Saunders became the NBA’s youngest active head coach at just 32 years old on Sunday night after the Minnesota Timberwolves fired coach and team president Tom Thibodeau. Saunders’ promotion bumped the league’s previous youngest coach, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luke Walton, off the podium by six years.

Saunders, the son of legendary late former Timberwolves head man Flip Saunders, isn’t the youngest coach in NBA history. That title belongs to Dave Debusschere, who player-coached the Pistons in 1964 at 24 years old. But Saunders still looks more likely to be playing an NBA game than masterminding one:

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Forty-two active NBA players — enough to field three full teams — are older than Saunders. That includes three on his own team’s roster: Taj Gibson, Luol Deng and Anthony Toliver.

Here’s the total list:

1. Vince Carter
2. Dirk Nowitzki
3. Jamal Crawford
4. Pau Gasol
5. Udonis Haslem
6. Jose Calderon
7. Kyle Korver
8. Dwyane Wade
9. Nene
10. Tony Parker
11. Tyson Chandler
12. Devin Harris
13. Andre Iguodala
14. Carmelo Anthony
15. J.J. Barea
16. J.J. Redick
17. LeBron James
18. Marcin Gortat
19. Raymond Felton
20. Thabo Sefolosha
21. Zaza Pachulia
22. AnthonyTolliver
23. Chris Paul
24. Courtney Lee
25. Dwight Howard
26. J.R. Smith
27. Jared Dudley
28. Joakim Noah
29. LaMarcus Aldridge
30. Luol Deng
31. Marc Gasol
32. Nick Young
33. P.J. Tucker
34. PaulMillsap
35. Shaun Livingston
36. Taj Gibson
37. Trevor Ariza
38. Gerald Green
39. Jason Smith
40. Kyle Lowry
41. Marco Belinelli
42. Rajon Rondo

It’s hard to see Saunders assuming the position long-term. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wolves have already internally discussed Chauncey Billups, Monty Williams, and Fred Hoiberg for either (but not both) of Thibodeau’s two positions. But Saunders has the experience and the backing to succeed for however long he’s there.

The son of the late Flip Saunders, the Wolves head coach in 2014-15 and for a decade in a previous stint, Ryan has served in NBA coaching roles for 10 years. From 2009-2014, he was an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards, hired initially by Saunders to specialize in player development. When Flip returned to the Timberwolves’ bench in 2014, he brought Ryan with him. In five seasons in Minnesota, Ryan has earned the trust of multiple coaches, including Thibodeau. The hope in Minny is Ryan Saunders can earn the fans’ respect in ways Thibodeau couldn’t.

Thibodeau was booed at every home game following a messy fallout with Jimmy Butler, resulting in a team with two or three stars to rank second-worst in league attendance. (Minnesota’s WNBA team, the Lynx, ranked second-best in attendance for the 2018 season.)

Saunders is young, but as experienced as he possibly can be at his age. He got his first assistant coaching job just months after graduating college. The Athletic’s Jon Krawcynski already claims Saunders has the respect of the locker room.

Now it’s a matter of if he can turn the struggling franchise around at the midway point of the season.